William, Kate fly economy amid jet furore

by Laura Elston

23rd Aug 2019 7:22 AM

Prince William, Kate and their children have taken an economy flight to Scotland in the wake of the row over Harry and Meghan's use of private jets.

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and children George, Charlotte and Louis - along with nanny Maria Teresa Turrion Borrallo - travelled on an STG73 ($A132) FlyBe flight from Norwich to Aberdeen on Thursday morning, the MailOnline reported.

They were heading to Balmoral for their annual break at the Queen's retreat in the Scottish Highlands.

Kensington Palace declined to comment.

Harry and Meghan have faced criticism for taking four private jet journeys in 11 days, despite their environmental campaigning.

On Thursday, the SussexRoyal Instagram account shared an image of cupcakes bearing the mantras "Stay strong", "You are enough", "You are worthy" and "You are so loved", among others.

It was part of a post highlighting Luminary Bakery, a social enterprise in Stoke Newington, north London, which helps women from disadvantaged backgrounds who have faced traumatic experiences get their lives back on track.

Meghan, in a quote posted alongside the image, described it as a "space for baking, healing and rebuilding" and revealed she had secretly visited the bakery.

"When I visited the women earlier this year, I was struck by how the baking, itself, is a means of therapy for these women - which in many ways makes complete sense - feeling they had no control over their lives based on their previous (and often harrowing) circumstances, they found comfort in the measured nature of baking," she wrote.

The post, taken as a sign the duchess is focusing on her charity work rather than the jet row, followed a behind-the-scenes video that Meghan released on Wednesday of a photo shoot for a capsule clothing collection for the charity Smart Works.

Elton John revealed he provided the duke and duchess and their baby son Archie with a private flight to Nice to "maintain a high level of much-needed protection".

The star condemned the "relentless and untrue assassinations on their character" and wrote on social media he had made sure the flight was carbon-neutral by making the "appropriate contribution" to a carbon footprint fund.

The Sussexes' trip to Nice followed a reported holiday to Ibiza to mark the duchess's 38th birthday earlier this month.

Pink said Meghan has been subjected to "the most public form of bullying I have seen in a while" and called on people to show "it's cool to be kind", while DeGeneres said the royals are "the most down-to-earth, compassionate people".